Not long ago, virtual reality is frequently used to enhance our experience in entertainment and playing video games. But over time, this technology is becoming more and more accessible to us that other industries are also capitalizing on the functionality of this immersive technology to achieve utmost efficiency. Such industry who will greatly benefit from the application of VR technology is oil and gas.
So in this entry, we are going to discuss some of the reasons why virtual reality in oil and gas industry is necessary to improve operational productivity.
A More Effective Way Of Training Employees
Most of the workforce in the oil and gas industries are composed of contract workers. And these people must be trained first and undergo a strict certification process before entering the plants and perform their designated tasks.
Traditionally, their training is done by classroom lectures and video tools, which needless to say, is partially efficient considering that they don’t get the feel of how this knowledge is being applied in the actual setting.
By using a virtual model of plants in training new employees, they can actually have a “first-hand view” of what it’s like working in their work areas, and they can easily assess the safety requirements needed to perform their tasks efficiently. And as a result, the trainees will now have a general understanding of the plant facilities and practice safety requirements before they even set foot in their workplace. Moreover, they will be able to respond correctly to potentially dangerous situations.
VR Can Also Be Used By Maintenance Technicians To Cut On Maintenance Cost
Installation in oil and gas plants are usually done in remote locations, making costly and challenging to access. So to help address this issue and ensure that the maintenance of oil and gas plants are properly scheduled maintenance technicians can utilize virtual reality to inspect the plant and be familiarized with the facilities without being there physically.
In turn, the maintenance and travel cost are reduced.
Can Also Help Improve Maintenance Efficiency
In times of equipment failure, maintenance technicians are required to do a first level of assessment and check all the parts of the faulty equipment as well as the tools to be used in the repair. This diagnostic is time-consuming as technicians must secure a safety clearance first before visiting the site. Just by using virtual reality in oil and gas industry with real-time data from the operational system can effectively help in the technician’s assessment as they’ll be able to identify the problem before going to the site.
In doing so, the time needed to complete the overall maintenance is significantly reduced. Furthermore, this gives technicians enough time to prepare as they have already analyzed the problem beforehand through the key parameters that were already integrated and inspected through virtual reality.
Boost The Overall Safety
Lastly, using virtual reality in oil and gas industry can greatly help in the risk of accidents in the actual work area. And as a result, this will also help the company to save money.
Accidents can happen in the workplace, and the risk is especially high in oil and gas plants. Just think about the amount of money the oil and gas company have to spend for accidents?
Once VR technology is implemented in oil and gas plants, the risk of accidents will also be lessened. And this will result in the reduction of cost associated with the hospitalization and repairs due to accidents.
In addition to this, the use of virtual reality will also benefit the new employees since the possibility of being injured will be reduced as they try to familiarize their work environment.
If you are interested in bringing this technology to your company, we recommend you to try FutureOn’s virtual reality platform. They are a Houston based company that’s focused in giving oil, gas and renewable energy companies more business opportunities and digitizing their processes. Their Field AP software can also help you save time and money by avoiding multiple revisions of proposed layouts.